Ice making machine



NOV. 19, 1940. s, R RQDGERS 2,221,847

ICE MAKING MACHINE Filed Oct. 4, 1939 V INVENTOR.

ATTORNEYS.

' Patented Nov. i

" sssucg a om 4, 1539; Serial 3Claims. (area-i159);

V. This invention relatesitoimprovements in ice making apparatusand more specifically to a mold for use v in' the making of no artificial ice "in small lump form. s

One of the 'im'ptiatt taste or the invention resides in an ice forming mold'iniwhicha maxl- Y mum numberofdndividuallumps of ice may be :-made in a given amount; of space.

shape to produce, iump; of}, ice substantially I. vision of:an ice" mold for making, frusto conical shape'edwicelumps in which the conical shaped 'mold cells are. arrangedrin staggered-rows and "arelalternately arranged relative to theopposed fl-sides oitthe mold to provideaniaximumnuinber of cells in'a: given amount of 'space,'- and to-cause are broken. a a I I a further-feature -of the invention is to 'pro- 1 'vlde a-no'vel means-of agitating thewater inthe mold cellsduring a freezing operation to assure crystal clear, ice lumps which is essential for the use of ice lumps for drink cooling purposesg 1 A still further feature of the; invention is to make-an individual lump of ice of substantiallyv 1 conical shape which reduces the :chances of the as lumps of ice' from freezing together when thrown into'contacting engagementwith each other after "their removal'from: the mold, it ;being understood that the present conventional "flee-cubes fr'eadily fuse together due-to their flat -.surfaces contacting. By making theice-lumpsof conical shape the major portion 7 of ajthe lump presents curved surfaces which lessens the chances of the i v passed downwardly through the mold [H during -a freezing operation'as will be if ully explained lumps of ice becoming strongly frozen together.

. Other features-of the invention will become 7 apparent as the following speciflcationis read? in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in

which,

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the ice making apparatus with the cover of the freezing contalners separated from the body thereof.

Figure 2 is an end elevational view with parts broken away in transverse section.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary side elevational view of one of the ice molds with parts broken away I in section. a

. onical 'f hflp d'z la ps Referring to e invention is provide h; icelumps formed therein to fall from. oppo- -slte sidesof the mold when the mold is'inan f upright position 1 and the frozen bonds ,between v the-ice lumps tandthe walls of the ,moldeells J ure I4 is an; detail: 'vertical-transver'sje sectional vlew'gon the line of Figure 3, and'illustratingthe manner in whichthe frnstoof ice 'd 'op from opposite sides of the awlngby referencecharv imam; the {numeral l0 designates my improved me making apparatus "in its: entirety whichin- 'cl udes one orQmore ice [forming molds and a eceptacle I2 I0 receivingf'tne'imold or; molds Han t e present instance jl have illustrated iri the awing' a receptacle'fl'for accommodating three r'nolds I lgandthe receptacle includes a=rectangular shaped receptacle" body I! which is open-at its jtopi? The "open top of the body '13- is closed: 1' e gby'ja removable covertl havinga lifting ring Iii a vdisposed centrally"thereof." 'Thecoverfll is also provided with an openin'gl B for a purpose to be 7 hereinafter jexplainedgf Any suitabl .--latching f means may. be; provided 'to' secure the cover to the body l3 for,the"apbaratus l0 is lowered-and lifted into the freezing tank by hoistingfan'cl low-g i erin'gl apparatus [which 1 may connect with the ring l5.

'I'hefreceptacle "body I3 is constructed of metal andincludes three sep'arate spaced compartments' l'l whichf'cornniunicate adjacent the open top of the body, The: confronting side walls of .the compartment i1 provide spaces 18 between adjacent compartments to permitthe refrigerant 3o to contact the maximum surface of'the wans or I the compartments during a freezing operation.

, Eacli'fof the iclafornfihi molds, ll includes-a rectangularshaped hollow'metal casing I9 of a size to snugly fltfinto'a compartment l1. Thecasing l9 5 comprises spaced parallel side walls fit-T20, end walls li -2| and a top wanna The bot tomfof the casingisopen, and the side walls 20-20adjacent theibottoms thereof are'pifovided withss'paced apart air outlet openings 23. The 0 top wall 22 is providedwlthan airfirilet-coupling 24 for it is intended'that air under pressure be hereinafter ,7

VHorizontal rowsof spaced vertically alined ice forming cells 25 are providedfwithin-the casing 'IQQand each cell is formed by a hollow cell member 28 of frusto-conical shape open at opposite ends. The large end of the member 28 is sealined and the ends of the cell member maybe u open ends of the intermediate rows of cell mem-' bers 26 open onto the other-side wall 20. The staggering of the cell members and the reversing of their relation to dispose the large open ends of the cell members of one horizontal row at one side of the mold and the large open ends of the cell members of the next staggered row at the other side of the mold permits of the formation of a maximum number of ice forming cells in a mold of a iven size.

In use, the cover H is removed from the body l2 and the compartments H are supplied .with

suflicient water to fill the cells 25. .The molds II are respectively dropped into the respective compartments and come to rest on the bottom walls thereof. Hand grips 29 maybe'provided -on the top walls 22 of the molds to facilitate handling of the same. As the molds are dropped into their compartments, the cells 25 fill up with water fromthe lowermost row of cells to the uppermost row of cells. Air tubes are'inserted through the opening IS in the cover and respectively connected to the air inlet couplings 24, whereupon the cover is applied over the top ofthe body l3 and securely locked by any suitable means. The apparatus I0 is now placed in a brinefreezing tank or subjected to any other refrigerant where it is left until the water in the cells 25 has congealed or become frozen. During the freezing operation, air under pressure is passed through the tubes 30, which air enters "the hollow casing I9 of the molds H and passes downward, thence out through the air outlets 23, and upwardly between the molds and the walls of the compartments H, a certain amount of the air circulating through the cells as it ascends to find escape through the opening I6 in the cover I4. The circulation of air through the mold during a freezing operation, causes the water to beslightly agitated which air agitation is inducive of the making of crystal clear ice.

. When ice; is formed in thecells 25 of the molds,

the apparatus I0 is removed from their freezing tank-and the cover I4 removed from the recepformed in the cells and the walls of the cells become broken, the frusto-conical shaped lumps of ice A slide outwardly from the cells at opposite sides of the mold, as illustrated in Figure 4 of the drawing. A receptacle .may be placed at each side of the mold to catch the lumps of ice A as they drop. To expedite the release of the lumps of ice from the mold, the mold may be inverted in position, with its open end up, and hot water may be poured into the casing l9, after which the mold may be returned to its normal position and the hot water emptied therefrom.

By making the lumps of ice A of frusto-conical shape, the likelihood of the lumps becoming frozen together is reduced in comparison with ice cubes of the conventional kind. Should the rounded surface of two lumps of ice A contact during storing of a supply of lumps, only a minimum amount of surface is in contact. whereas the fiat sides of ice cubes when frozen together necessitates a striking blow to separate. In the event that the surfaces of two lumps of ice A become frozen together, the same may be easily separated by the hands.

While I have shown and described what I consider to be the preferred embodiment of my invention, I wish it to be understood that such changes in details of construction and design as come within the scope of theappended claims may be resorted to if desired. 7

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is:

1. An ice making' mold comprising a rectan-- gular shaped casing open at its bottom and having a top wall, opposed longitudinal side walls, and opposed transverse end walls, the distance between the side walls determining the length of the lump of ice to be formed, horizontal rows of conical shaped cell members mounted in said side walls and opening therethrough, the conical shaped cell members of-one row. being reversely arrangedrelative' to the conical shaped cell memers' of the next adjacent row and being staggered relative thereto, whereby conical shaped lumps of ice may be formed in said cells and be expelled therefrom by gravitation from opposite sides of said .casing when the mold is in upright 2; -An ice making mold as set forth in claim 3. 'An icemakingmold comprising a rectangular shaped casing open at its bottom and having atop wall, opposed longitudinal side walls,

and opposed transverse end walls. the distance between theside walls determining the length of the lump of ice to be formed, cell members mounted in said side walls and opening therethrough, an air inlet provided in the top wall of said casing, and spaced outlets in the side walls of said casing adjacent the bottom thereof whereby air may be circulated through said casing and intosaid cell members when the mold is enclosed in a freezing receptacle during a freezing operation.

SAMUEL R. RODGERS. 

